1- STATS. Toronto leads the NBA in rebounding rate, yanking down 58.1% of all rebounds available. Charlotte, on the other hand is in the bottom 3 in the league at 45.3. What has the Raptors owning the glass against their opponents and will it continue tonight in Charlotte?

Spencer: The Bobcats showed some major progression last night in the rebounding department – it was definitely a team effort as the team’s SG + SF (Hendo & MKG) combined for 16 rebounds. Jeff Adrien has proved to be a problem down low for just about every team as well. Adrien is currently 2nd in the entire league in rebounding rate, pulling down 23.9% of all boards when he’s on the floor – that’s 2nd to only Dwight Howard.

As far as I can tell, Rudy Gay has asserted himself on the glass so far in the season and is carrying the load for Toronto in this category. I’d expect this to drop as the season continues due to the belief that Gay won’t consistently get 9.3 RPG and Valanciunas + Amir Johnson are going to have to bolster the rebounding effort for the Raptors.

Dakota: One of the main factors behind Toronto’s climb up the rebounding leader boards can be pointed to the addition of Tyler Hansbrough and continued performance by Jonas Valanciunas and Rudy Gay. While I am impressed by the way Toronto has been controlling the boards, I think that may change tonight as they face off against a Bobcats team that absolutely destroyed the Knicks the previous night because of their rebounding ability.

Doug Branson: Rudy Gay has to do something to hide the fact that he is in the worst shooting slump in his career and can’t protect the basketball. He decided all of a sudden that he would become an elite rebounder, averaging just under 10 a game. Hansborough off the bench has been able to come in, throw some elbows, make some questionable decisions with his stare downs and grab some boards. The Bobcats are not a great offensive rebounding team and can’t afford to miss a lot of open jump shots. This being the back-end of another back-to-back they probably will do just that. Advantage: Toronto.

2- OVER/UNDER. Much to my surprise, Demar is averaging 20.3 PPG and Rudy Gay is leading the Raptors rebounding party with 9.3 RPG. Over or under on these numbers tonight for this duo?

Spencer: UNDER. We’ll see how Hendo’s legs are after the thriller last night in MSG. On the other hand, DeMar is coming off a loss to Miami last night where he continued the hot start with 21 points. DeMar has the upper hand in this matchup because of his height – 6’7 vs. Hendo’s 6’5. It’ll be a battle of attrition.

UNDER. Gay vs. MKG is going to be real fun tonight. I have a feeling that Gay will settle for tons of jumpers tonight. For a few reasons: 1) MKG’s intensity and unwillingness to get beat off the dribble, and 2) this game is one the heels of back-to-back for both teams. Heavy legs.

Dakota: Over on DeMar and under on Rudy Gay. Now in his 5th season in the league, it looks like DeRozan is finally turning the corner as an overall offensive threat. While it’s still a small sample size, DeRozan is looking to be even more aggressive in terms of penetrating to the rim while continuing to develop his mid-range game. Outside of Gay, DeRozan is one of Toronto’s only big offensive threats so I think it’s pretty much guaranteed for him to match his season average in tonight’s game.

Doug Branson: There are some individuals who were born to score the basketball and do little else. DeRozan is one of those individuals. DeRozan can be very dependent on his jumper and MKG, Hendo and Taylor have shown an ability to close out on guards who don’t care to drive. I’ll take the under. Rudy continues to board well getting 10 against the Heat, another smaller team, last night. The Raptors have played him at the four for stretches to exploit matchups and his athleticism allows him to beat some traditional fours to the offensive boards. I’ll take the over on Rudy’s rebounds.

3- PICK IT. Toronto hasn’t won in Charlotte since 2010. Just saying. Who you got?Spencer: Bobcats. Toronto hasn’t won in Charlotte since 2010 and I can’t imagine that this young Charlotte squad doesn’t smell blood to get above .500 tonight at home. Even on the heels of a back-to-back.

Dakota: Coming off that fantastic performance against the Knicks, I’m extremely optimistic about the Bobcats which would lead them to be my personal pick against Toronto.

Doug Branson: Damn (darn, I don’t know how you roll at the QCH (Brett’s edit: Left this in for fun – we’d even accept shoot or shucks) you NBA and your 22 back-to-backs for the ‘Cats. If the Bobcats can hold the Raptors to under 30 looks underneath the basket and can turn DeRozan and Gay’s early shot clock misses into transition buckets then the Bobcats win. That’s too many ifs. Raptors win on a second half surge, 95-90. Half-off pizza to drown your sorrows.